New York: Arms traffickers can too easily navigate the patchwork ofnational arms regulations, fuelling conflict while avoiding arrest andextradition, because of the lack of global regulation of the arms trade,says international agency Oxfam.

The agency says the case against alleged arms trafficker Viktor Bout showswhy international rules on arms trading are so desperately needed.

A Russian citizen, Mr Bout’s pre-trial opens in New York on Friday (21January). He is alleged to have sold arms and ammunition for nearly 20years into some of the world’s worst war zones including Afghanistan,Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone andSudan.

Oxfam, which is campaigning for a global deal to regulate the arms trade,says that international law should make it clear that no country can allowthe kind of arms brokering activities Mr Bout is accused of, selling armsthat perpetuate terrorism and contribute to violations of internationalhuman rights and international law.

“Regardless of whether Viktor Bout is found guilty or not, the need forglobal rules on arms trade has never been greater. Despite numerousaccusations, there has been no mechanism to stop him carrying out theseactivities,” said Oistein Thorsen of Oxfam in New York.

“Unscrupulous arms traders are experts at exploiting these legal loopholes– and without a binding treaty that regulates the global arms trade, we’rejust making it too easy for them to continue to do so. Even if one armsdealer faces trial, there are still dozens operating freely in this greyarea of international law.”

Oxfam says that a robust international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) which is nowbeing negotiated at the United Nations would finally put an end to thelegal vacuum that arms traffickers are thriving within.

Oistein Thorsen: “How can we have strict international laws that regulatethe trade of bananas and iPods, but allow traders of deadly weapons to gounchecked? We need a set of laws that would hold every actor involved intrading of arms – from the exporter, to the broker to the end-user –accountable to the same high standards.”

The Control Arms campaign is a global civil society alliance that has advocated for a bulletproof Arms Trade Treaty for over a decade. Made up of over 100 charity, nonprofit, and nongovernmental groups throughout the world, Control Arms continues to strive for a world where deadly weapons are kept out of the wrong hands through a regulated arms trade.